The entrance to the sandstone city.
"Huh? Why are you back so early today?"
The soldiers guarding the city were quite surprised to see Joey and his two companions return so early, as they were never this early on their usual days.
"Oh, I didn't walk very far today, and I'm feeling hungry, so I'm planning to get something to eat when I get back!"
Anyway, Joey just made up a reason on the spot.
This kid really loves to lie and fool people; he can't even come up with a decent reason.
The guard who had said Joey wasn't a fool thought about it for a moment, and his gaze toward Joey carried a hint of disdain.
However, Joey didn't care about his gaze; all she wanted now was to get back to Carter's workshop as soon as possible and have a good chat with him about what happened in the desert that day.
"Alright, once you pay the taxes, you can go in!"
The guard didn't want to argue with him and told him to pay the money first.
Joey didn't hesitate and handed over the taxes for the three of them to the guard.
"Go in!"
Seeing that the tax had been paid, the guards didn't make things difficult for the three of them and let them in.
"Thank you!"
Joey thanked them and led the bearded man and Digger into the city.
They didn't linger anywhere else, heading straight for Carter's workshop.
Ding ding ding...
The familiar sound of hammering metal traveled through the bustling crowd and reached Joey and his companions.
Joey felt a little strange, and couldn't help but quicken her pace.
"Cartel!"
Joey greeted him, and Carter, who was swinging a hammer, put it down when he heard Joey's voice.
"You're back?"
He picked up a blackened rag from the side, wiped his hands, and walked towards Joey with a smile.
"Martha!"
The bearded man walked over to Martha, who was busy to the side, with a cheerful smile, but Martha ignored him.
It seems that Martha was still somewhat unhappy about Cartel shutting down the smelter, but because he was her father, she couldn't openly express her displeasure. Now that the bearded man had returned, it was a good opportunity for her to vent her anger.
"Yeah, just got back! I'm planning to stay home today, not going out!"
Joey forced a smile, and Carter, sensing the hidden meaning in Joey's words, didn't press him for an explanation.
"Then let's go inside and get some rest. Although the weather has turned cooler, it's still very hot outside the city!"
"Um!"
Joey didn't press Cartel about why he had reopened the workshop today. His own experience today had made him realize that something was amiss with Cartel as well. However, the two of them kept it to themselves and decided to save some things for later.
He ignored the group and went straight into the inner room.
"Meow!"
Little Black, who had been lying by the fire, stood up at this moment. It called out softly, caught up with Joey, and jumped onto his shoulder.
WaWa followed Joey inside.
Why are you back so early?
Martha was puzzled when she saw that Joey didn't say much. When the bearded man approached her, she lowered her voice and asked, her tone accusatory.
"Martha, we didn't slack off!"
The bearded man thought that Martha had misunderstood him because he had returned too early, and that she thought the others had been slacking off.
"I didn't say you guys were slacking off, let's get down to business!"
Martha looked angry, making the bearded man cower in fear.
"Joey told us to come back. He said it wasn't a good day for him to mine ore; it was too risky, and we needed to come to the city to take shelter!"
"risk?"
"Yeah, I encountered an invisible undead today. It was really powerful; it even hid in my shadow and almost hurt Joey!"
The bearded man briefly described to Martha his encounter with the female ghost that day.
"What? A female undead can become invisible?"
Upon hearing that the group had been attacked, Martha's voice suddenly rose a few decibels, drawing Carter's attention.
"If you have something to say, go inside. This isn't the place to talk!"
His expression turned extremely serious. From what Martha had said, he had already deduced a general situation, a not good one.
"Yes, Father!"
It was only then that Martha realized that her father's decision to shut down the smelter today must have had a deeper meaning; a pair of eyes lurking in the shadows had already set their sights on their family.
She grabbed the bearded man's hand and hurriedly walked into the inner room.
She was now eager to know the whole story, and Martha, unlike her father, was not so composed; she needed the bearded man to tell her everything right now.
...
The sun had already set, and there were only a few pedestrians on the street.
Carter closed the workshop door and hurried into the inner room.
At that moment, a short figure outside the workshop disappeared into the alley across the street.
"Joey, did you encounter an attack by a female undead rogue outside the city today?"
As soon as Carter entered the inner room, he went straight to Joey and asked him the question.
"We did encounter an attack, and there was definitely a female undead, but whether she was a thief or not, I'm not sure!"
Joey was still somewhat wary of this invisible female undead.
"Her name is Lan, and she belongs to the city lord!"
Carter didn't waste any words, but a hint of worry appeared on his face.
"Lan? One of the city lord's men?"
Joey hadn't expected Carter to know so much about the undead. He thought Carter had come to ask about what had happened that day, but Carter had directly revealed the undead's identity.
"Yes, she was someone left behind by the old city lord. The current city lord is his son, named Saril!"
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